Related videos:
The Cuban-American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar demanded an immediate investigation into the release of the Cuban businessman Jorge Javier Rodríguez Cabrera, a figure closely linked to Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as El Cangrejo, the powerful grandson of General Raúl Castro.
The legislator made the request from her personal account on X, without using her official Congressional account.
In the message, he formally requested the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review the case "as soon as possible," and questioned why individuals connected to Cuba's repressive elite are accessing immigration benefits that should be exclusive to victims of the regime.
"The migration benefits of the United States are for the victims of Castroism, NOT for those privileged individuals with connections to the repressive elite who live in luxury and power while the Cuban people suffer," he stressed.
He also thanked Martí Noticias and journalist Mario Pentón for "exposing these abuses," emphasizing that freedom is also defended through fearless journalism.
His statement comes after it was revealed that a federal judge in Nevada ordered the release of the businessman, who had been detained since June by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Although the ruling occurred after the filing of a habeas corpus petition, the DHS opposed even granting residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act, a controversial decision due to the businessman’s connections to high power circles in Cuba.
Rodríguez Cabrera, currently a businessman in the United States and a partner at the shipping and logistics company Gran Azul LLC, had been described by ICE as a person with strong ties to the Cuban government.
The agency justified his detention by citing his past as a diplomatic courier for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), a status that allowed him to travel with a diplomatic passport.
However, his defense insisted that that role concluded almost eight years ago and that the document expired in 2017, dismantling the argument used to keep him detained.
The case has also generated concern because Rodríguez Cabrera is represented by one of the most influential immigration law firms in the country, Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, led by Ira Kurzban, husband of Magda Montiel Davis, a Cuban-American lawyer remembered in Miami for kissing Fidel Castro and calling him "maestro" in 1994.
For sectors of the exile community, the presence of this firm reinforces the perception that a powerful individual is being protected by influential networks.
Rodríguez Cabrera requested political asylum after entering the United States through the southern border in 2022 and was detained in June 2025.
He alleged persecution by the same regime he was associated with, but investigations released by Pentón and Martí Noticias documented his ties to the ruling elite, casting doubt on his claims.
In addition to alleging connections with the Castro family, those reports link the businessman to the rapid creation and expansion of Gran Azul LLC, registered in Nevada in November 2024, with locations today in Miami, Orlando, Houston, Phoenix, and Fort Myers.
Its rapid growth has raised suspicions among industry entrepreneurs, particularly due to the lack of clarity regarding the origin of the capital used. "No one knows where that money came from," said a source from the logistics sector in statements quoted by the media.
Concerns also heightened following the broadcast in 2023 of videos aired by América TeVé showing Rodríguez Cabrera aboard a yacht alongside El Cangrejo, enjoying seafood and drinks, a privilege granted only to those close to power in Cuba.
Sources say that both of them met through Sheyla Puentes, the mother of Raúl Castro's granddaughters. Although their romantic relationship ended, the friendship with the dictator's grandson continued and allegedly included trips for shopping in the United States and Mexico.
Since his name became public, Rodríguez Cabrera has avoided any contact with the press.
These circumstances have raised alarms in the Cuban exile community, where many fear it may be an undercover operation infiltrating the U.S. economy by the Castro regime.
In light of this concern, Salazar requested that the government of President Donald Trump, which is resuming federal control, intervene and revisit the case to prevent individuals with ties to the dictatorship from benefiting from legal protections intended for those fleeing it.
For the congresswoman, this is not a common migration process, but rather a matter that compromises the security and credibility of the U.S. asylum system for Cubans.
That is why it calls for an urgent investigation: to prevent the country that shelters the persecuted from ending up protecting the privileged of the very structure that oppresses them.
Filed under: